A train of thoughts and writings on development, technology and the economy focusing on the socio-techno-economic-cultural surge of developing economies to regain and partake in leadership of the world. Written by George Easaw. (This is purely an academic site, no commercial use is allowed. Photography rights lie with the respective organisations). Mention credits as needed.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Last week Kerala witnessed heavy rains like never before in 25 years, old timers say.. raining cats and dogs !! literally.. The winds were howling for two days continuously. It was a real sight to see. !!

Kerala was already reeling under the chikun gunya and dengue and nile fever epidemics. On sat night, thiruvadikunnel appachen died from fever and liver probs.. The rains brought some solace from mosquitoes but the rains caused massive damage to electricity, telephones, road transportations, rails .. schools were closed for two days. land slides were very common in this part of the state. We could not move out of the house for 2 days.

Since in the college we were having series tests for students we ran the college using gen set power. it was very cold too. i caught a cold and had to take rest for two days and came to the office only this morn, wed, 27 june 07.

The rains have subsided for the time being but it wil come with great force next week it is being reported in the tv news here.

btw, next wednesday i will be moving to hyderabad. let us see how it clicks..

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

BITS Pilani is starting a campus in Hyderabad and classes are starting in the 2007-08 session.

This is fourth campus of Birla Inst of Tech and Science besides the original one at Pilani, Dubai and Goa. and will also keep the same standards as Pilani.

There are a good number of students from Andhra entering BITS every year which prompted them to start a campus in Hyd. Though the campus is a bit far from the city, Secunderabad area near the Army College of Dental Sciences, Hyd 87, about 200 acres land is ample space to start an institute and make it world-class.

Clear indications whether Musharraf has been successful or not.. Military dictators are dictators, they are not benevolent at all. All dictatorships in history are failures.. Where people's rights are not respected, anarchy will rule.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Remarkable unity was displayed by the UPA members, neutralising the Shekhawats / thakurs / Shivsena and taking women into confidence by nominating the Guv of Rajasthan, Mrs Prathibha Patil for the post of President. That is a sure shot ..!

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

The just concluded G8 summit in Germany was a failure .. Why ? Nothing worth the salt was discussed there and whatever was discussed did not come up with any concrete steps to see through it's implementation.

The group of 8 thought it proper for them to invite the emerging economies of Brazil, India, China, South Africa and Mexico (BICSAM) as invitees to the summit. Eventhough there were discussions of global warming and what the G8 could do about controlling this global warming phenomenon, nothing concrete came out. The Americans as usual were adamant about not signing the Kyoto protocol which limits greenhouse gas emissions by 2012 by member countries.As was earlier said in a conference on the environment in Beijing, if all people in this world were to live like an average American, we would need five planet earths to sustain such a wasteful, non-sustaining life style. We can never afford the American wasteful lifestyle of splurge. The average American needs to understand this. How long will it take for that ??

Eventhough America can buy polluting rights from less developed countries, the Americans have made it very clear in the summit that any offer from them to reduce greehouse gas emissions need essentially to be with similar assurances from India and China. In otherwords it is a ploy by US to contain the growth of India and China, which is posing a threat to American leadership in innovation, technology, manufacturing and Information technology.

Unless world countries seriously think of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, there can be no immediate solution to the threat of global warming posing a major threat to the world, rising rivers, rising ocean levels, sinking landmasses, sinking islands, riainsing average temperatures by at least 2 - 5 degrees and so on.

The G8 ( comprising half a billion) continue to use 50 percent of fossil fuels consumed now and the rest four and a half billion consume the other fifty percent...

Let us hope world leaders behave sensibly for the sake of this world. The to be newly formed G5 (BICSAM) can offer leadership in this regard.

Friday, June 08, 2007

Weekends in MBC College of Engg is dull. Eforts are being made to make it interesting to stay here.

The most important reason is that staff members, teaching and non-teaching run away from this place on Friday evenings. It is facilitated by the last hour being declared off on Fridays to facilitate this mass exodus of people from Peermade to the plains. I do not know who has declared it off, but as a right people take the last hour off to facilitate early escape.

The internet lab has been kept open during weekends only recently so that students who are staying here can spend the weekend productively. The students need not roam around, instead can spend their time usefully in the lab.

Having to spend long times in the office and college has to be in the blood of the people here. Without spending more time in the college and office, the college cannot improve. We are still in the arts and science college mentality, where nobody cares about college development.

The college was controlled by an admin officer ( he has been releived now, Thank God..) who used to have his say in the running of the college, who used to see that the staff were unduly given more privileges to the detriment of the institution. The college and staff lost the student focus. All were looking after only their welfare, comfort and convenience. The student was left to lurch in the dark.

Students are paying for their studies here. They come here due to the reputation of the college, the church and the faculty. Let us not prove them wrong.

Let us develop more student focus in whatever we do. Only then can this college grow and develop to be among the top in the state. It can..

The need of the hour is to make campus life in MBC vibrant and active during weekends. For this we need the support of the students and staff in great measure. The students should be given more academic load so that they are forced to stay back during weekends instead of running home. More extra curricular activities should be started in the college which can spread over to the weekends so that students can enjoy life here. The mess has been spruced up, so that there cannot be a complaint regarding food.

Let us hope in the coming days things will improve and motivate staff and students to stay back in the MBC campus and make campus life unforgettable.

The Manager of MBC and Metropolitan of the Idukki Diocese of the Malankara Orthoodox Church was killed in an accident involving his Scorpio Jeep and a private bus going towards Kottayam at 10 AM on 6 June 2007 at Kidangoor near Ponkunnam, Kottayam district.

The youngest Bishop of the Malankara O'dox church at age 51, he was also a very dynamic Bishop. Even in the jeep at the last time, he had boks, umbrellas and terxt books for distribution for the poor in the Idukki diocese.

The body was kept for public viewing ion the Devalokam aramana, Kanjikuzhy, Kottayam till night time and was taken to the Vattikattu Dayara, Vaakathaanam, where he was buried with the whole top clergy of the Malanakara Church in attendance at 11.30 AM. on 7 nJune 07.

A Post graduate of the Annamalai University, late HG was very well educated and cared for the poor in the society much more than anybody else.

Lately his renewed interest in the MBC Engg college had seen some major restructuring at the top and the college was getting poised for top honours in the near future.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Is it ok to be too strict in an engg college ? I am afraid it is a wrong notion. The engg college students are grooming to be professionals and they need to be treated like that. If they klive with fear, they grow out to be stunted in their personality.

Straight out from higher secondary school, they get lot of freedom when they come to an engg college. especially if it is a fully residential one. The college and hostels should only have enough discipline to make them feel secure not to be afraid of the authorities. The students should get a silent environment for studies. anybody found violating basic hostel discipline should be sent out of the hostel.

Letting students of very low merit in the college will def lead to indiscipline. Only those students who deserve to be in engg college should be let in, not every Tom, Dick and Harry..

Being strict and not allowing students enough breathing space to exercise / display their talents and skills is a crime.

Let the authorities take note.. Enough flexibility should be put in the system. Give them enough academic load or games and facilties like gym, courts etc, let them expend their energy.

Saturday, June 02, 2007

The 70 MW Pathrakkadavu hydroelectric project on the border of the Silent Vally National Park in the Western Ghats is once again in the news. While being pursued and proposed by some people, it is being vehemently opposed by others. This hotspot which has been preserved by the state despite lot of developmental pressures now stands the risk of being depleted of it's rich flora and fauna. Unless the state takes the necessary steps, it is going to be part of history. The other hotspot, the Amazon forests is also facing such a crisis of development versus preserving natural equilibrium.

Development is a vital concern for the state. The growing demands of a developing society, me included, of electric power is a threatening factor for governments during election time. Imagine a day one has to live without power. Electricity has become a vital part of our life, enabling us to do many big tasks which our forefathers using raw manual power could never even imagine of accomplishing. The state cannot wash hands off both these competing concerns of these two different groups of people, one trying to preserve and the other expending.

The first and foremost step the state can take to meet the growing power needs is to raise the efficiency of the present generation, transmission and distribution system of electrical power. It is said that with regard to the state electricity boards, this wastage combined with pilferage and theft accounts to almost 43 % of the total power generated. It means one half of the people is paying for and subsidising the power needs of the other half. The other half notable includes the rich, mighty and influential in the society, the so called parasites who live off others. What a pitiable state of affairs in the country.

The fact that the Leader K Karunakaran's daughter Padmaja was stealing power in her house in Kochi made headlines some years back. The state acted earnestly to prevent such leaks. That did defame some of the prominent personalities in the state who were living off the state. The same urgency the state needs to show now to streamline efficiently the transmission and distribution of power. Traning programmes for the Engineers and field staff on the need to conserve energy and to improve efficiency of operations is the need of the hour. As in every sphere of life corruption plays a major role in this sector of the economy.

Using standard, certified energy efficient devices, the need for certifying agencies to rate the different electrical devices and to impress on the companies the need to to self regulate themselves regarding such devices for posterity will definitely take the message of conservation lot ahead. As a first step the state could propose to stop the use of filament bulbs in government offices and homes in the state.

Turning back to mother nature and over exploiting (raping ) her every time we fail in our efforts to discipline and educate ourselves, is a crime not only against nature and our society, but also shows our carelessness for the generations to come.

Let us not forget the ancient proverb (anonymous)

We have not inherited the planet Earth from our ancestors, but have borrowed it from our children.